Access as a set of doors
Access to education is easiest to understand as a series of doors that a learner must pass through. Each door can be locked in a different way. Is there a school, college or course within reach? Can the learner afford to take part? Do they meet the entry requirements? Are the materials available to them in a form and language they can use? Is there time?
Open education aims mainly at three of these doors: cost, distance and entry requirements. This overview looks at each, how open approaches try to open them, and where those efforts end. Specific groups and barriers are treated at more length elsewhere on this site; the purpose here is a broad map.
Cost: removing the price of materials and some courses
Cost is the most commonly discussed door. When open educational resources replace paid textbooks and course packs, students no longer need to pay for them. Some courses, offered openly online, charge nothing to participate. For learners with limited money, this reduces the risk of trying something new.
Several details are worth keeping in mind:
- The saving applies to materials and some courses, not to tuition at institutions that charge it.
- Certificates, exams and recognized credentials often carry fees even when the learning content is free.
- Hidden costs remain for devices, connectivity and printing.
- Funding for open materials has to come from somewhere, such as public bodies, institutions, charities or volunteers, so “free to use” does not mean “free to produce”.
Distance: learning without traveling
Not everyone can easily travel to a school or college. Distance may reflect geography, cost of transport, health, disability or caring responsibilities. Open and online materials let people study where they are, and file formats that can be saved or printed allow learning without a live connection.
Open licensing adds something here: because resources may be copied and distributed, local organizations can load them onto shared computers, tablets or storage drives, or print them, for people who have little or no internet. Public libraries and community centers can act as local points of access.
The limits are practical. Where electricity and connectivity are unreliable, online-only materials fail. The digital divide is the clearest example of how a solution to distance can create a new access problem. Plans that count on broadband to reach remote learners should also plan offline alternatives.
Entry requirements: lowering the threshold
Many formal programs require previous qualifications, tests or applications. Open courses generally have no such conditions: anyone can start. For adult learners who left school early or who are changing direction, this can make a difference, because they can sample a subject, rebuild confidence and fill gaps without a gatekeeper.
A few points need balancing:
- Open entry means anyone can try, but not everyone will be equally prepared. Without support, learners without the background may struggle or give up.
- Entry to a course is not entry to a qualification. Formal programs usually retain their requirements, and finishing an open course does not necessarily satisfy them.
- Some institutions recognize prior learning or offer credit for approved open courses. Practice varies widely, and it is best to check with the institution concerned.
Beyond the three doors
Access has other dimensions that open education touches more indirectly.
Language. Materials in a learner’s own language are more accessible than those in a language they are still learning. Open licenses allow translation, but translated material does not exist for every language.
Format and disability. A resource must be usable by people with a range of abilities. Open licensing allows conversion into alternative formats, but the work must be done.
Time. Self-paced study fits around work and family better than fixed timetables. Learners must supply their own structure and motivation, which is hard for some.
Information and trust. People can only use resources they know about and trust. Teachers, librarians and community organizations often serve as bridges, helping learners find reliable material.
How to tell whether access has really improved
Simple counts, such as the number of downloads or registrations, show interest but not that access has improved for people who lacked it before. Better questions look at who is using the resources and who is not. A scheme designed to reach rural adults, for example, should look at whether rural adults are actually taking part, rather than only measuring total sign-ups. A measure of completion matters too, because starting a course and finishing it are different things, and dropout is common in unsupported self-paced study.
It is also helpful to check what was done to reach people outside the usual audience: were materials translated, were offline versions provided, did anyone promote the resources through trusted local channels?
Access is a beginning
Opening the door is a necessary first step, not the end of the process. After access comes the matter of using what is available, which depends on guidance, time, skills and recognition. Programs that treat expanding access as the whole goal may be disappointed by results, while those that treat it as the starting point can plan the later steps.
Open education plays a real and useful role in widening access, particularly through lower material costs, flexible location and open entry. The effect varies with local conditions, and the evidence on how much it changes who ends up learning is still developing. A realistic view credits openness for the doors it opens and recognizes that others remain closed.